THE POOL OF NECTAR - PAGE 3
(PICTURE 1: View of the Golden Temple from on top of a tower.)
Thus a group of Muslim architects, masons, carvers and other craftsmen were brought to Amritsar and lodged in a huge building known as Haveli Chaniotian, situated inside the Lahori Gate. (The Haveli Chaniotian was situated in Kucha Tarkhana, Gali Qabarwali. During the riots of 1947, this Haveli, along with its adjoining mosque, was demolished. The ruins of the mosque can still be.seen there, but there are absolutely no remnants of the haveli.) The entire Naqqashi (floral decoration) and Jaratkari (stone inlay) work was done by these artisans, under the supervision of Badaru-Mohiudin, the chief architect. After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the task of completing the work fell on three Sikhs – Bhagwan Singh Jamadar, Mangal Singh Ramgarhia and Rai Bahadur Kalyan Singh. Later, when the Muslim craftsmen emigrated through lack of patronage, the rest of the work was completed by local Sikh and Hindu artisans.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was fond of giving paintings, gold ornaments and fine textiles as gifts, in the course of his diplomatic dealings. Thus he had invited and patronized a number of skilled artisans and accomplished painters from the Pahari regions of Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Jodhpur. At his request, the Pahari painters (of whom only Parkhu's name is recorded) as well as some from Delhi, such as Jeevan Ram and Hasan-al-Din, came to settle in the plains of Punjab, both in Lahore and Amritsar. Along with the painters came the Pahari folk-songs and Pahari dishes as well.
The courtyard of the Golden Temple was extended and remodeled in our own time. Amenities for hundreds of devotees who visited the town every day were provided with a view to attract more settlers. Ranjit Singh had displayed remarkable foresight in inviting the Marwari traders to settle in Amritsar, for he knew well that trade had an important part to play in the evolution of a society. (Among these eminent Marwaris of the time, Seth Radha Krishan, a social worker, and Padma Prakash Maheshwari deserve special mention.)
During the reign of Ranjit Singh, a leading figure among these Marwari traders was Raja Vir Bhan: a scholar-priest, who brought along a number of Marwari merchants. He built a Saivite shrine, known as Vir Bhan-ka-Shivala (Vir Bhan was a devotee of Siva), inside the Ghee-Mandi Gate and commissioned painters to decorate its walls.
PHOTO 2: This brilliant photograph of the interior of the Hari Mandir, with the Granthi turning the pages of the holy book, while worshipper stands before the Gospel, animates the holy scene with a masterly grasp of depth into the spirit of the interior. (Photo: James Blair)
Through Ranjit Singh's initiative, Amritsar became a flourishing business centre. A business street now known as Katra Ahluwalian was at first Nauriah Bazar, named after a well-known community of the Marwaris. There is a popular tale retold by the old folk which further substantiates the habitation of Marwaris in this area: It is said that the Marwaris entreated Ranjit Singh to lay the foundation stone of Katra Ahluwalian. It was a momentary slip on his part that he laid the first brick in a slanting position, whereupon a priest, who was present on the occasion, predicted: "It is inauspicious that this has happened thus; now, instead of prosperity and good fortune, the reverse would befall." Ranjit Singh, the noble and generous king that he was, allotted each shop for a paltry rupee and a quarter by way of compensation against the threat of any future loss.
Ranjit Singh also encouraged the nobles of his court to reside in Amritsar. This triple blend of trade, religion and aristocratic patronage was soon to find reflection in art and architecture. Numerous Hindu temples, palatial havelis and burjs (residences of the rich), akharas of the Mahants (priests), dharamshalas for the convenience of pious pilgrims, sprang up.
Amritsar, beginning from its pool of nectar, has remained the humming center of millions of devotees, the caravanserai of travelers, the greatest trade center of northern India, and an inspiration in the struggle for freedom for four centuries. And it will remain, what it has been since its foundation, the source of the passion for unity of faiths, which the Sikh Gurus preached for generations, as well as of the love that the poet-saint Nanak brought to a troubled world.
-- K. C. ARYAN
All Photographs Copyright © 1999 Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa - http://www.sikhphotos.com - (Unless specified explicitly)
All Text Copyright © 1977 Marg Publications, Army & Navy Building, Fort, Bombay. Published by J.J. Bhabha for Marg Publications - Vol XXX , Number 3, June 1977